


There's A Crack In Everything I Hold Close To My Soul

by letitmakeyoustronger



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, alternate ending to The Hike
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:15:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27878202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letitmakeyoustronger/pseuds/letitmakeyoustronger
Summary: Prompt from MmmEatGlass:What if David said no to Patrick’s proposal?
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 18
Kudos: 115





	There's A Crack In Everything I Hold Close To My Soul

David looks down at the four gold rings and then at Patrick’s face, so open and full of love and he panics. He knows he should say yes and he wants to, but his mouth won't listen to his heart so the words don't come out. His eyes close as he hears Patrick’s voice, tentative and a bit scared. 

"David?"

David opens his eyes and looks at Patrick who is standing now. He looks at the rings one more time, willing himself to say yes, but instead his hands close the box and he shakes his head before offering the oblong box back to Patrick. He might not be able to say yes, but he can't say no either. His heart clenches as he hears Patrick take a wet, shaky breath and reach for the box. David holds onto it for a second longer before letting it slip out of his grasp. He turns away as Patrick packs up the blanket and champagne, the tears start to fall when he hears the front zipper close, hiding away the rings and his future in darkness. 

He hears Patrick clear his throat, "I'll call Ray to give me a ride, you can take the car."

The tears fall harder, he just broke Patrick’s heart and yet he still thinks about him first. He tries to turn around but he can't, he can't handle seeing the devastation on Patrick’s face after hearing it in his voice. He finally wills himself to turn around so he can tell Patrick that he'll find a ride home but it's too late, the bluff is empty. David sinks to the ground and lets the sobs overtake his body.

💔💔💔💔

Patrick lets himself into the apartment, dropping the bags by the door. He feels numb, still unsure about how it all went wrong. He plays the time up on the bluff over and over in his head. He thought they were ready for this step, especially after his birthday, when David had made everything okay. He had planned every moment of the day, he had played the moment David would say yes, over and over in his mind a thousand times. It never even dawned on him to prepare for David to say no.

He walks over to the alcohol stand and reaches for the bottle of whiskey, opening it and bringing the bottle to his lips taking a deep drink. He stumbles to the bed, setting the bottle on the chair on David’s side of the bed before crawling under the blankets. He lays his head on the pillow and breathes, the tears finally coming as he takes in the scent of David's shampoo. It feels like his body is being ripped in two as his heart breaks over and over. His body stops heaving as exhaustion takes over and he falls asleep with his hands clenched around David’s pillow.

💔💔💔💔

David is still in bed the next morning when Alexis comes back from her run. His hopes of her leaving him alone are dashed when she throws open the curtains. He groans at the sunlight and burrows under his comforter.

He feels Alexis sit on his bed and tries to ignore her when she starts tapping her fingers on his legs.

"David? Why is Patrick’s car outside? Where is he?"

David clears his throat, grimacing at the pain. Apparently crying all night is not good for his throat. "I don't want to talk about it."

Of course she doesn't listen to him. "What happened? Did you guys have a fight."

"Not really."

"Then what?"

David blinks back the tears that fill his eyes, "He proposed yesterday. And I said no. Well that's not true, I didn't say anything. I just shook my head and broke his heart."

Alexis frowns, "What? Why did you say no? I thought you loved him?"

David jumps out of the bed and starts pacing the small room. "Of course I love him, but that doesn’t mean I should marry him!"

Alexis just watches as he walks around the room, "David you've been planning your wedding since you were like ten years old! You practically live at Patrick’s. Isn't marriage the next step?"

David looks at his sister and sits on her bed. He wipes the tears from his eyes. "Marriage is pretty permanent, you get married and you buy a house and then you start picturing growing old at said house and it feels right and perfect and secure."

Alexis looks confused, "And those are bad things?"

David shakes his head, "No, they are good things, the best things. But what happens when Patrick decides I'm too much or I mess something up that he can't forgive and all those good things go away?"

Alexis shakes her head, a sad look on her face. "David, Patrick loves you more than anything in this world. He's seen the worst of you and the best of you and everything in between and not once has he ever even looked away."

David lets the tears fall as he starts to cry. "I know. I know. I just- I panicked and got scared and oh God, I think I just lost the love of my life." He bends over as if in pain, sobs wracking his body.

Alexis jumps up and sits next to him, she hesitates for a moment, unsure what to do, before rubbing a hand up and down his back. "I don't think that's true, David. You just need to find him and talk to him. He's probably just as hurt and confused as you are."

David sits up and looks at his sister, "Do you really think so?"

Alexis nods, "Patrick loves you and unlike all the other people you've dated, he really sees you. He might be upset but I know him too and I know he would never give you up without a fight so you shouldn't give up on him without one either."

David offers her a small smile, "Thank you, Alexis." 

"You're welcome, but first take a shower because seriously, woof David."

He stands up with a huff and heads to the bathroom but not before uttering, "Fall of a bridge."

💔💔💔💔

Patrick opens the town hall door, grimacing at the squeak it makes. He woke up with a pounding headache that even three aspirin wouldn't touch. And of course he forgot David had his car. He seriously thought about calling Stevie to cancel their last practice before the show, but he didn't want to let her down. So he walked to the hall, hoping the cool air would help clear his head. Of course it didn't. He sees Stevie is already there so he quickly tries to school his face into a bland expression, hoping she won't notice anything out of the ordinary.

Of course she does.

"Well you look like crap. Did David keep you up late last night?"

At the mention of David’s name his face crumples and the tears he's kept at bay all morning pour out. He sees Stevie's mouth open in shock.

"What? Patrick what happened?"

He just shakes his head and sinks to the floor, his back against the wall. Stevie hesitates for a second before walking over and sitting across from him. She puts a hand on his knee and looks at him, concern etched on her face, which just makes him cry harder. 

"I should call David." Patrick’s hand shoots out to stop her as she reaches for her phone.

"Please don't," he whispers. 

She nods, "Okay but you need to tell me what happened, because you're really scaring me right now."

Patrick nods as he wipes the tears from his face. "I took David on the hike yesterday and proposed. He turned me down."

Stevie lets out a gasp and she rears back from him, in shock. "What? He said no?"

"He didn't actually say anything, just shook his head and gave me back the rings."

"Rings?"

"I had four gold rings made to match his silver ones."

"Oh, Patrick, I didn’t know. You didn't tell me that when you asked for my blessing."

Patrick shakes his head and lets out a shaky half sob. "I wanted David to be the first to know about them." 

Stevie rubs her hands over her face, seemingly trying to gather her thoughts. "I don't know what to say. I know he loves you. It's actually gross how much he loves you."

Patrick just shakes his head, "I don't know how I got things so wrong. I really thought he saw us having a future together. He talked about us living together when I got my apartment and he said he saw us together five years down the line when he tried to set me up with Ken. Not to mention everything he did when my parents were here. I should've just been happy with how things were. Instead I tried to lasso the moon and lost it all."

"No, Patrick, just no. I know he wants that with you, he's let it slip, more than once. You know how bad his past relationships were, he just gets scared and then he panics. He's never had anything like this before and I know he worries about messing it up and losing everything he's built with you. Trust me, you just need to find him and talk to him."

Patrick watches as she stands up and offers him her hand, he grasps it and lets her pull him up. He knows she'll hit him but he takes the chance and pulls her in for a quick hug, before stepping out of her reach. 

"Thank you, Stevie."

"Don't mention it, like seriously don't mention it. I have a reputation to uphold. Now go get your man!"

"What about rehearsal?"

Stevie shakes her head, "We aren't going to get any better than we already are, and I don’t want you lifting me if your head's not here."

"Fair enough. Can you give me a ride home? I left my car with David last night."

💔💔💔💔

Patrick notices his car in its usual spot when Stevie pulls in the parking lot. He opens the door before Stevie can even come to a complete stop. He yells a thank you over his shoulder before entering his building and running up the three flights of stairs. He turns the corner and stops as he sees David sitting against the door. 

"David?"

David’s head jerks up and he looks at him and Patrick’s heart breaks a little at the fear he sees there. He slowly walks to his apartment as David unfolds his long legs and stands up.

"You could've gone in." 

"I wasn’t sure if I'd be welcome."

Patrick’s eyes fill up with tears, and all he can manage is a soft whisper of his name. He reaches past David and opens his door, stepping in and holding the door open.

"You'll always be welcome here." 

David nods and walks past him into the apartment. Patrick closes the door.

💔💔💔💔

David watches as Patrick crosses the small apartment. His heart breaks as he watches him, he looks so tired. He hates that he's the reason Patrick looks so sad. Patrick speaking pulls him from his thoughts.

"David, I'm sorry. I should have talked to you first before doing what I did. I should've realized with your past that you weren't ready for such a huge step. I'm so sorry I messed everything up."

David tips his head back and shakes his head, "No, no, no Patrick, you didn't do anything wrong. I just, I guess I didn't realize I had some lingering fears about our relationship and when you proposed I just panicked and I think my self-preservation went into overdrive and I thought if I just said no now that it would protect my heart instead of breaking it ten, fifteen, twenty years down the line when you inevitably decided I was too much and left." David’s voice cracked as he finished, and he blinked rapidly to stop the tears.

Patrick walked over to him and after a slight hesitation, which broke David’s heart just a little, placed his hands on David’s arms, rubbing his hands up and down them.

"David, I love you so much and I'm always going to love you. I think I loved you from the moment I met you and I know I will love you when we are wrinkled and grey haired."

David let out a wet chuckle, "Speak for yourself, there's a reason I spend a small fortune every month on a skincare regime."

Patrick smiles softly at him, and David’s heart starts putting itself back together. "Okay David, irregardless I will love you the rest of my life. You are it for me, you're my person. And listen, we can take marriage off the table. I just want to spend the rest of my life with you, I don't care what it looks like. As long as I have you that's all that matters."

David smiles at the love of his life. "Ask me again."

Patrick looks at him, confusion on his face. "What?"

"Ask me again."

Patrick smiles as he realizes what David’s saying. "David Rose, will you marry me?"

David smiles brightly and nods, tears falling down his cheeks. "Yes, it's a yes."

Patrick lets out a sob as tears fill his eyes, "Are you sure?"

David pulls Patrick to him and just before their lips touch he whispers, "Easiest decision of my life."

💗💗💗💗


End file.
